The invention relates to a connecting and coupling arrangement for attachment to the front of a vehicle, such as a tractor.
The known connecting and coupling arrangement of EP-B1-0 012 780 includes a large number of individual components which can only be used for the single purpose of lifting from the ground, carrying or setting down on the ground an item of equipment, such as a mower, which is to be mounted on the arrangement.
In another known hitch system, the actuating means may be used both for displacing lower links and also for vertically lifting a weight. However, the actuating means and the weight are arranged within a front end region of a tractor and are thus not accessible from the exterior, nor are they suitable for any other purpose than lifting a weight which is set down directly beneath the hitch system. In addition, this hitch system does not permit other possible uses.
Another hitch system (DE-A-2 804 129) has a three-point hitch which is connected to an ancillary frame and which can be moved up and down in a frame and which is pivotable with the frame relative to the working vehicle. In this case, the working vehicle is a portal-type tractor for attending to tall plants, and the entire hitch system is designed only to pick up equipment from the ground. There is no further function to be attributed to the individual components, as well as to the entire hitch system.
Finally, a different hitch system is known from DE-A-2 927 736. This system connects a weight to an agricultural tractor and has a roller-type carrier which is mounted to the agricultural tractor at the front and the tail thereof. A plate, which extends lengthwise beneath the tractor with the weight, is mounted displaceably into the roller-type carriers, and is displaceable, with the weight, transversely and longitudinally with respect to the tractor, by way of hydraulic cylinders. However, the plate must first be lifted to the mounting height of the roller-type carriers by way of a plurality of lifting jacks before the plate can be introduced into the roller-type carriers. This hitch system can also only be used for connecting such a plate with a weight.